It has been nearly three weeks since three Palestinian college students were shot in Burlington. Rich Price, Hisham Awartani’s uncle, said his nephew and his two friends, Kenan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmed, were visiting him for the Thanksgiving holiday. Price said the three boys decided to go for a walk around his neighborhood on North Prospect Street, after attending his twin son’s birthday party. Less than 10 minutes later he received an unimaginable phone call. “We got a phone call from my nephew telling us he had been shot,” Price said. Price said the past few weeks have been long and difficult for the victims and their families. But he added that he was amazed by the youth’s determination to move forward. “I think they’re recovering physically, and emotionally I think they’re still processing this,” he said. He said he hopes a deeper message comes from the trauma they experienced. “For Hisham, Tahseen and Kenan to be able to give a human face to what it means to be Palestinian in this country. And that we can open a dialogue in which standing for Palestine and defending Palestinian rights is a positive thing. And it’s not, it’s not a position of opposition to something else. But for his nephew, Price said, that means facing a new reality. He is paraplegic. He is unable to move from the waist down or from the chest down, and this is difficult to treat. A 20 year old should take a hit like that. “Since his release from UVM Medical Center, Awartani has been transferred to a rehabilitation center in Massachusetts,” Price said. “Reconnecting the mind-body connection,” Price said. “But they also prepare you for life in this situation.” But he said he is in awe of his nephew’s resilience, adding that Awartani hopes to return to school at Brown University next semester in January and catch up on the work he missed. “He keeps saying to his teachers, ‘I want to come back, how can I?’ You know, he can’t wait because he wants to know how to finish the semester that he stopped. And just talking to him and watching him, there he is, ‘unstoppable,’” said Price. Abdul Hamid and Ali Ahmed are already back. To their school campus.
It has been nearly three weeks since three Palestinian college students were shot in Burlington. Rich Price, Hisham Awartani’s uncle, said his nephew and his two friends, Kenan Abdel Hamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmed, were visiting him for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Price said the three boys decided to go for a walk around his neighborhood on North Prospect Street, right after attending his twin son’s birthday party. Less than 10 minutes later he received an unimaginable phone call.
“We got a phone call from my nephew telling us he had been shot,” Price said.
Price said the past few weeks have been long and difficult for the victims and their families. But he added that he was amazed by the youth’s determination to move forward.
“I think they’re recovering physically, and emotionally I think they’re still processing this,” he said.
He said he hopes a deeper message comes from the trauma they experienced.
“That Hisham, Tahseen and Kanan can put a human face on what it means to be Palestinian in this country. And that we can open a dialogue in which standing for Palestine and defending Palestinian rights is a positive thing. It is not, and it is not a position in opposition to something else.
But for his nephew, Price said, that means facing a new reality.
“He is paralyzed from the outside. He is unable to move from the waist down or from the chest down. It is difficult to comprehend that a 20-year-old could be hit like this.”
Since his release from UVM Medical Center, Price said Awartani has been transferred to a rehabilitation center in Massachusetts.
“What they’re doing at this rehabilitation facility is they’re trying to reconnect the mind-body connection,” Price said. “But they also prepare you for life in this situation.”
But he said he is in awe of his nephew’s resilience, adding that Awartani hopes to return to school at Brown University next semester in January and catch up on the work he missed.
“He keeps saying to his teachers, ‘I want to come back, how can I,’ you know, he can’t wait because he wants to figure out how to finish the semester that he stopped. And just talking to him and watching him, there he is unstoppable,” Price said.
Abdul Hamid and Ali Ahmed have already returned to their school campus.
The family of the victim in the Burlington triple shooting is speaking out about the long road to recovery for the college students involved. The shooting left three young adults injured, and their families are now taking time to speak out about the impact this tragic event has had on their lives. As they navigate the physical and emotional toll of the shooting, the families are determined to share their perspective and advocate for support for the victims as they work towards healing and rebuilding their lives.